Wudaokou Watch: "Chinese Hospitality Makes Life Here Worth Living"

Welcome to Wudaokou Watch, where we profile a different Beijing-based student from abroad each week to hear about their life in China's capital. You can read the whole series here.

My name is Jackson Bazilio. I come from Tanzania, a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, is in northeastern Tanzania. I'm studying at North China University of Technology, majoring in International Trade and Economics.

Beijing is totally different from my hometown, Dar es Salaam. Here, infrastructure and communication systems are highly developed. In fact, I have enjoyed every moment of my stay in this city. The people are very friendly and welcoming, Chinese hospitality is so adorable and it makes life here worth living.

The biggest challenges are the language, as if you don’t speak Chinese you can’t have a smooth life here but once you learn the basics, things turn out to be different. Secondly, the food. It was hard at the beginning but honestly speaking, as time goes by am getting used to it.

I enjoy the nightlife in clubs, partying with my buddies is my thing. I also enjoy going to events organized by the Beijinger like just the recently concluded 2019 Beijing Burger Festival, it was great fun.  The school schedules are also friendly which gives scholars a chance to relax after tiring weekdays. I also go skating with friends whenever we have time.

Whenever I feel homesick I like visiting places like the Forbidden City or the Beijing Zoo. These help me feel like home as I recall life in Bagamoyo historical area back home, so refreshing and good for relaxation. I have my countrymates around so we leave together as a family and this helps us fight this feeling of being homesick.

The best part about Beijing is its well-developed infrastructure which makes it easier to get anywhere fast. I love all the modern technology running the city, from payments, transportation, communication, and more. Life is just so cool in Beijing.

When I visited the Great Wall of China in Mutianyu, that was a dream come true experience. I have always wanted to go there and finally, I made it. I think that will remain my most memorable experience for years.

I think am a very good manager of my time now, this is a great impact from my  Beijing experience. The Chinese value time, this is very different from the rest of the world, and you can miss out if you are late by just one minute.

I am really inspired by the way Chinese businessmen operate. I want to be a great businessman who will connect small businessmen in Africa with the great Chinese businessmen. I have to achieve it.

READ: "I Can Now Confidently and Fluently Speak Chinese"

Are you a student in Beijing? Let us profile you and your unique experiences here. Drop us a line at editor@thebeijinger.com and we’ll get back to you to schedule an interview.

Images courtesy of Jackson Bazilio